Don't call our new secretary of state a liar. Because she's African-American, that automatically makes you a racist. Instead, just say she's somewhat truth-impaired:
EIGHT months before the September 11 attacks the White House's then counterterrorism adviser urged then national security adviser Condoleezza Rice to hold a high-level meeting on the al-Qaeda network, according to a memo made public today.
"We urgently need such a principals-level review on the al-Qaeda network," ... Richard Clarke wrote in the January 25, 2001 memo.
Mr Clarke, who left the White House in 2003, made headlines in the heat of the US presidential campaign ... when he accused the Bush White House of having ignored al-Qaeda's threats before September 11.
Mr Clarke testified before inquiry panels and in a book that Rice ... had been warned of the threat.
So, just to review:
> Condoleezza Rice believed a briefing titled "Bin Ladin Determined To Strike In U.S." wasn't actually a warning that a terrorist strike was soon to happen.
> Condoleezza Rice believed a memo containing the words "We urgently need such a Principals-level review on the al Qida network" did not count as "turn[ing] over to the new administration" the al-Qaeda threat.
But we've got her as our top diplomat anyway. Aren't we lucky!
